If you're shy male

Modest? Shy? Reluctant to tell everyone how brilliant you are? If you're male, you can probably add 'single' to that list.

Instead, cocky types are more likely to win their hearts, with Simon Cowell's arrogant attitude more appealing than Hugh Grant's bumbling on-screen behaviour.

　

The three female researchers showed more than 200 people videotapes of a man and a woman applying for a job as a computer lab manager.

The volunteers were asked to rate them for modesty, likeability and a range of other factors. Despite the actors being equally qualified for the job, the man was liked less than the woman.

Professor Laurie Rudman, of Rutgers University in New Jersey, said: 'Our findings demonstrate that men encounter prejudice when they behave modestly. 'They also raise the possibility that men may avoid behaving modestly because they risk backlash when they do.